Korea-US FTA Five Years in: Bilateral Trade Increased 1.7%

The Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) marks its 5th anniversary on March 15. Bilateral trade between S. Korea and the United States grew an average 1.7 percent per annum over the five-year period, according to a report released by the Institute for International Trade (IIT), a private think tank run by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).

Over the 2012-2016 period, however, S. Korea's international trade dropped by an average 3.5 percent per year. Global trade also fell by an average 2 percent per year over the cited period.IIT said in the report, “The Korea-U.S. FTA has propped up bilateral trade between the two countries, creating a win-win situation for both of us."

According to the report, the combined share of American goods in S. Korea's import market rose 2.14 percentage points from 8.5 percent in 2011 to 10.64 percent in 2016. On the other hand, the combined market share of S. Korean goods in the US edged up 0.62 percentage point to 3.19 percent in 2016 from 2.57% in the year (2011) before the Korea-US FTA went into effect.